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Recognitions, September 27

Wanamaker Named to President’s Council of Economic Advisers

Marianne Wanamaker, associate professor of economics in the Haslam College of Business, has been appointed as a senior economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. The first active UT professor to serve the council, she moved to Washington, DC this summer to begin a one-year term.

Established by Congress in 1946, the Council of Economic Advisers is composed of three Members appointed by the president and supported by senior economists such as Wanamaker. Its stated mission is to “formulate and recommend national economic policy to promote employment, production, and purchasing power under free competitive enterprise.”

Pride Center Welcomes New Coordinator Bonnie Johnson

Bonnie Johnson has returned to Rocky Top to serve as coordinator of the UT Pride Center. In her new role, Johnson will oversee the direction and daily operations of the center while also managing various programs, services, and initiatives that support and advocate for the LGBTQIA community.

“The Torchbearer’s Creed states that ‘One that beareth a torch shadoweth oneself to give light to others,’ and I carry that with me in everything I do. The students have worked incredibly hard over the last year carrying the torch at the Pride Center, sacrificing their time to keep the center open for the good of our campus community. As the new coordinator, it is now my turn to bear that torch, and I take it on with pride.”

Hazari Honored for Exceptional Professional Achievement

The UT Alumni Board recognized College of Architecture and Design alumnus Patrick Hazari (B.Arch. ’05) this month for his exceptional professional achievements. Hazari was one of five who received the Alumni Promise Award, which recognizes UT alumni who have demonstrated distinctive achievement early in their careers.

After graduating in 2005, Hazari was a designer at Weiss/Manfredi, one of the most prominent architectural firms in America. After three years, Hazari joined the Friends of the High Line team in 2008. At only 35 years of age, Hazari is now the Director of Design and Construction for Friends of the High Line, a non-profit conservancy responsible for the world-renowned 1.45-mile-long linear park built on a former railroad structure in New York City. Hazari is currently directing construction of the final phase of the High Line, the “Spur”, and leading the concept design of a street level plaza.

When asked for advice, Hazari explained, “It’s important that students know the profession blurs many lines, and there are different professional paths that can be taken within the field of design. The curriculum at UT prepares and exposes students to the big picture. Architecture is just a small piece of the fabric of design.”

In Memoriam: Lawrence “Larry” Taylor

Lawrence “Larry” Taylor, a faculty member who was founder and director of UT’s Planetary Geosciences Institute, passed away September 18. He was 79.

A prolific researcher, Taylor had a career at UT that spanned 46 years.

He was one of the geoscientists based at the Johnson Space Center during Apollo 17, NASA’s last manned mission to the moon, in December 1972. During that mission, he met astronaut Harrison H. “Jack” Schmitt. Their friendship played a critical role in the growth of UT’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, in which Taylor was based. It was also instrumental in the forming of the Planetary Geosciences Institute, which has a long and well-established history of work for NASA and the National Science Foundation.

The electron probe laboratory in the new Strong Hall science building will bear Taylor’s name. His contributions funded the Larry Taylor Professorship in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Taylor is survived by his wife, Dawn, his children, Kelly Parra and Jeff Taylor, and their spouses and children.